Crossover exercise recumbent bike

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a crossover exercise recumbent bike, comprising a pedal mechanism positioned on the bike body with a seat provided thereon. The characteristic of the invention lies in that each of two pedal cranks thereof has an axis of rotation tilted forward to form an included angle between the transversal direction; accordingly, when an exerciser steps on pedals to rotate the two cranks, the invention enables the exerciser to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up lower body (legs and butt) and strengthening upper body (flat abs) at the same time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a crossover exercise recumbent bike,especially to a rotary pedal mechanism of a recumbent bike having anaxis of rotation of each of two cranks thereof with a few degrees offorward tilt, thereby enabling an exerciser to promote the multipleefficacy of exercise of firming up the lower body (legs and butt) andstrengthening the upper body (flat abs) at the same time.

II. Description of the Prior Art

Generally, people lack exercise opportunities due to the living style inmodern society and the constraints on athletic field and exerciseequipment provided. To solve these problems, there are fitness centersand various exercise machines provided on the market for the selectionof general public. However, a conventional rotary recumbent bike has itspedal mechanism made the same as a pedal mechanism of a general bike,which is a coaxial rotary structure on both left and right cranks. Whena user pedals on the cranks for exercise, the conventional bike merelyenables the exerciser to lift and press their legs on the uprightdirection, so as to achieve single efficacy of exercise of trainingquadriceps on the front of the thighs and the biceps on the rearthereof, without additionally exercising the adductor muscle group onthe inner thigh and muscle groups of lower body (waist and butt).Therefore, the conventional rotary recumbent bike does not possess thefunction of strengthening and training the muscle groups of the lowerbody. The conventional rotary recumbent bike needs to be improved.

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a crossoverexercise recumbent bike, enabling each of two pedal cranks thereof tohave an axis of rotation tilted forward, thereby enabling an exerciserto exercise the lower body (legs and butt) while strengthening the upperbody (flat abs) at the same time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a crossoverexercise recumbent bike, mainly comprising a pedal mechanism positionedon the bike body with a seat provided thereon, thereby enabling anexerciser to seat on the bike and steps on the pedal mechanism forexercise; the characteristic of the invention lies in that each of twobicycle cranks of the pedal mechanism having an axis of rotation tiltedforward to form an included angle with the transversal direction.

The assembly of the invention enables a user to sit on the seat of thebike body and rotationally step on the two cranks of the pedalmechanism, seeing that the two cranks are slantwise rotated by way ofthe exerciser's alternating left and right leg movements, that is, theexerciser alternatively pedals the left leg on the right front and theright leg on the left front; therefore, when a user employs theinvention to do exercise, the invention forcedly enables the exerciserto wiggle his/her lower body on both left or right side, and at the sametime, naturally wiggle his/her upper body on the opposite side in orderto balance himself/herself, so as to enable the exerciser to promote themultiple efficacy of exercise of firming up lower body (legs and butt),strengthening upper body (flat abs) at the same time, properly extendingand stretching the muscle groups of lower legs, thighs, hips and thewaist. Moreover, the mechanism of the invention enables an exerciser torotate the two cranks to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise offirming up arm and pectoral muscle muscles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top-down overlook view showing the structure assembly of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional assembly view showing the structure of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a top-down view showing a pedal mechanism of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top-down view showing a brake of the structure in accordancewith the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the assembly of another preferableembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the assembly of another preferableembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional assembly view showing another pedalstructure of the pedal mechanism of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional assembly view showing another pedalstructure of the pedal mechanism of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional exploded view showing a seat portion ofthe invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention willbe better understood from the detailed description and drawings thatfollow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention areillustrated by way of examples.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the “crossover exercise recumbent bike”of the invention mainly comprises a pedal mechanism 20 positioned on abike body 10 with a seat 11 provided thereon, enabling an exerciser tosit on the seat 11 and step on the pedal mechanism 20 while exercising.The invention lies in that each of two cranks 21 or 22 of the pedalmechanism 20 has an axis of rotation 23 or 24 tilted forward and form anincluded angle “a” with a transversal direction 25.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the body 10 has anextensible tube insert 12 provided on the front of the seat 11 and afastening screw bolt 121 is used to fasten or adjust the tube insert. Inaddition, a support rack 13 is upwardly provided on the front of thetube insert 12 and the pedal mechanism 20 is provided on top of thesupport rack 13. Therefore, each exerciser is able to apply theextensible tube insert 12 to flexibly adjust the distance between thepedal mechanism 20 and the seat 11, according to different height and/orleg length requirements. Moreover, the body 10 enables a backrest, 14whose angle of inclination is adjustable, to be provided on the rear ofthe seat 11. Thus, each exerciser is able to exercise with his/her mostcomfortable posture.

The assembly of the invention enables a user to sit on the seat 11 ofthe bike body 10 and rotationally step on the two cranks 21 and 22 ofthe pedal mechanism 20, due to the two cranks 21 and 22 being slantwiserotated by way of the exerciser's alternating left and right legmovements (as shown in FIG. 1). That is, the exerciser alternativelypedals the left leg on the right front and the right leg on the leftfront. Therefore, when a user employs the invention to exercise, theinvention forcedly enables the exerciser to wiggle his/her lower body onboth their left or right side, and at the same time, naturally wigglehis/her upper body on the opposite side in order to balancehimself/herself, so as to help the exerciser to exercise the lower body(legs and butt), while strengthening the upper body (flat abs) at thesame time, and while properly extending and stretching the muscle groupsof lower legs, thighs, hips and the waist. Moreover, the mechanism ofthe invention enables an exerciser to rotate the two cranks 21 and 22 topromote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up arm and pectoralmuscle muscles.

With the reference to FIG. 3, the included angle “α” between the axis ofrotation 23, 24 of each of the two cranks 21, 22 on the pedal mechanism20 and the transversal axis direction 25 is from 10 to 35 degrees, andthe optimal included angle is at 25 degrees.

Furthermore, an interlocking mechanism is provided between rotary shafts211 and 221 of the two cranks 21 and 22 of the pedal mechanism 20 on theinner lateral sides of the rotary shafts 211 and 221 (i.e., the innerpart of the support rack 13). Two bevel gears 212 and 222 are providedto be engaged with each other and jointly interlocked, enabling thecranks 21 and 22 to form a few degrees of forward tilt to achieve theobjective of the invention. In addition, the interlocking mechanismenables a brake 26 to be positioned on either of the rotary shafts 221(or 211). The brake 26 (as shown in FIG. 4) comprises a frictional wheel261, a belt 262 and a spin button control 263. The frictional wheel 261is positioned on the rotary shaft 221 for joint rotation. The belt 262has one end thereof positioned on the support rack 13 and the other endthereof connected to a screw bolt 264, which is pierced through thesupport rack 13 and screwed with the spin button control 263.Accordingly, the spin button control 263 is able to control the frictiondrag of the belt 262 against the frictional wheel 261 to enable anexerciser to adjust his/her exercise force (load).

The interlocking mechanism of the invention is able to be designed astwo embodiments as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. With reference to FIG. 5, theinterlocking mechanism has a bevel gear 212, 222 provided on each of thetwo rotary shafts 211, 221 of the cranks 21, 22 on the inner lateralside thereof. The two bevel gears 212 and 222 have a transmission device27 provided in-between. The transmission device 27 has two bevel gears272, 273 respectively provided on two ends of a rotary shaft 271 torespectively engage with the bevel gears 212, 222 of the two cranks forjoint movement, enabling the cranks 21 and 22 to form a few degrees offorward tilt for joint rotation. The transmission device 27 has a brake26 positioned in the middle of the rotary shaft 271 as shown in FIG. 4.With reference to FIG. 6, the interlocking mechanism of the invention ischanged based on the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5. In thisembodiment, a transmission shaft 28 is provided on the inner lateralsides of the two rotary shafts 211 and 221 of the cranks 21 and 22. Thetransmission shaft 28 enables two ends thereof to link with the tworotary shafts 211 and 221 by two universal joints 281 and 282 each forjoint rotation, enabling the cranks 21 and 22 to tilt forward. Inaddition, the transmission shaft 28 has a brake 26 positioned in themiddle thereof. Consequently, the two different embodiments are able toachieve the expected objective of the invention.

Moreover, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, the cranks 21 and 22 ofthe invention each have respective pedals 213 and 223 provided on theouter sides thereof. The pedal 213 (223) for an exerciser to step on hasan inclined plane 2131 (2231) inwardly formed on the surface thereof.Therefore, when the invention is applied, the pedals 213 and 223 areable to move in harmony with the inclined angles of the cranks 21 and22, to allow an exerciser to meet his/her ergonomic needs for use. Theinvention is able to be altered as shown in FIG. 8, so that a universaljoint is employed to connect both of the pedal 213 (223) and a pedalshaft 214 (224) of the crank 21 (22). A vertical tube 216 (226) ispositioned on top of a sleeve 215 (225), which is screwed by a screw nut217 (227) after being slipped on the pedal shaft 214 (224). In addition,the pedal 213 (223) has two sleeves 2132 (2232) positioned on the bottomthereof corresponding to both ends of the vertical tube 216 (226). Ashaft support 2133 (2233) is employed to pierce through the sleeves andtube for assembly. Accordingly, the universal joint possesses thefunction of automatically adjusting the angle of the pedal 213 (223) bysimultaneously using the pedal shaft 214 (224) and the shaft support2133 (2233) as revolving spindles. Therefore, when an exerciser uses theinvention for exercise, he/she is able to adjust the angle of the pedal213 (223) with more flexibility, that is, the invention conforms to theergonomic design to enable an exerciser to do crossover step exercise.

With reference to FIG. 9, the embodiment of the invention shows thewriggling and squirming movement that a user can make when he/she isdoing exercise. The seat 11 of the body 10 has a short shaft 111downwardly extruded on the bottom thereof and pivoted in a round hole151 on a bottom plate 15. In addition, the seat 11 has a plurality ofrollers 112 provided on the bottom side thereof. Consequently, when auser is sitting on the seat 11 and doing exercise, the crossover stepmovement of the exerciser easily enables his/her body on the seat 11 tosimultaneously wriggle and squirm smoothly.

To sum up, the “crossover exercise recumbent bike” of the inventioncertainly enables an exerciser to promote the multiple efficacy ofexercise of firming up the lower body (legs and butt) and strengtheningthe upper body (flat abs) at the same time.

New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by thisdocument have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to beexpressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may bemade in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by thosewho are skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is, of course,defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.

1. A crossover exercise recumbent bike, comprising: a pedal mechanismpositioned on a bike body with a seat provided thereon, thereby enablingan exerciser to sit on the bike and step on the pedal mechanism forexercise, each of two cranks of the pedal mechanism having an axis ofrotation tilted forward to form an included angle with a directiontransverse to an extension from the seat.
 2. The crossover exerciserecumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the bike body has an extensible tubeinsert provided on a front of the seat, and a fastening screw bolt isused to fasten or adjust the tube insert; a support rack is provided ona front of the tube insert and the pedal mechanism is provided on thesupport rack.
 3. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 2,wherein the body enables a backrest whose angle of inclination isadjustable to be provided on a rear of the seat.
 4. The crossoverexercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the included angle betweeneach axis of rotation of the two cranks on the pedal mechanism and thetransversal direction is from 10 to 35 degrees.
 5. The crossoverexercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the pedal mechanism has aninterlocking mechanism provided between two rotary shafts of the cranks,thereby enabling the cranks to form a few degrees of forward tilt forjoint rotation.
 6. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 5,wherein the interlocking mechanism has a bevel gear provided on an innerlateral side of each of the rotary shafts of the two cranks; the bevelgears are interlocked and a brake is positioned on either of the tworotary shafts.
 7. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 5,wherein the interlocking mechanism has a bevel gear provided on an innerlateral side of each of the rotary shafts of the two cranks; the twobevel gears have a transmission device provided therebetween; thetransmission device has two bevel gears respectively provided on twoends of a rotary shaft, so that said bevel gears of the rotary shaft arerespectively engaged with the bevel gears of the two cranks for jointmovement, the rotary shaft of the transmission device has a brakepositioned in a middle thereof.
 8. The crossover exercise recumbent bikeof claim 5, wherein the interlocking mechanism has a transmission shaftprovided on inner lateral sides of the two rotary shafts of the cranks,the transmission shaft enables two ends thereof to link with the tworotary shafts by two universal joints each for joint rotation; thetransmission shaft has a brake positioned in a middle thereof.
 9. Thecrossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 6, wherein the brakecomprises a frictional wheel, a belt and a spin button control; thefrictional wheel is positioned on one of said rotary shafts for jointrotation, the belt has one end thereof positioned on the support rackand the other end thereof connected to a screw bolt, which piercesthrough the support rack and is screwed into the spin button control.10. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the twocranks of the pedal mechanism have respective pedals provided on theouter sides thereof, the pedal for the exerciser to step on has aninclined plane inwardly formed on a surface thereof.
 11. The crossoverexercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the pedal mechanism has apedal thereof and a pedal shaft of the crank assembled by a universaljoint, a vertical tube is positioned on top of a sleeve, which isscrewed by a screw nut after being slipped on the pedal shaft; the pedalhas two sleeves positioned on a bottom thereof corresponding to bothends of the vertical tube, a shaft support is employed to pierce throughsaid sleeves and tube for assembly.
 12. The crossover exercise recumbentbike of claim 1, wherein the seat of the bike body has a short shaftpivoted in a round hole on a bottom plate and a plurality of rollersprovided on a bottom side thereof.
 13. The crossover exercise recumbentbike of claim 7, wherein the brake comprises a frictional wheel, a beltand a spin button control; the frictional wheel is positioned on one ofsaid rotary shafts for joint rotation, the belt has one end thereofpositioned on the support rack and the other end thereof connected ascrew bolt, which pierces through the support rack and is screwed intothe spin button control.
 14. The crossover exercise recumbent bike ofclaim 8, wherein the brake comprises a frictional wheel, a belt and aspin button control; the frictional wheel is positioned on one of saidrotary shafts for joint rotation, the belt has one end thereofpositioned on the support rack and the other end thereof connected ascrew bolt, which pierces through the support rack and is screwed intothe spin button control.